Desi In Toronto

Radio Potatoe came up with a great post.

What is YOUR definitive artist for each decade?

My selection was :

Here’s my list :
60’s : beatles
70’s Led Zepp & P. Floyd
80’s : Bon Jovi & Prince
90’s : Nirvana
00’s : Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails.

I have to add to the 00′s the band White Stripes. I have no idea why I left them out of the equation. But the authour of the post also asked who would shine in 2010′s and that has been at the back of mind for a few days now. What will be the definitive band of the 2010′s?

The problem stems from the fact that popular bands in today’s music scene are not necessarily ”good” bands. Honestly, I have never been so out of touch the US or UK top 10 because the music on these charts is just bad. I am sorry there is no other word for it. The music being pumped out by the millions is hard to digest and with the focus on singles rather than albums, it is more or less guaranteed that the rest of the songs in the album are going to suck.

It is fair to say that since the music industry is pushing bands that have a shelf life of 10 weeks, there is going to be no big and a famous band in the 2010′s. The established ones will continue to shine but I think the era of big bands coming out of nowhere and storming the hearts of the audiences and critics alike is over. We the avid music listeners will have to contend with the theory of The Long Tail by Chris Anderson.

The Long Tail or long tail is a retailing concept describing the niche strategy of selling a large number of unique items in relatively small quantities – usually in addition to selling fewer popular items in large quantities.

My theory is based on The Long Tail where by the popular bands will continue to sell big for a few months or years and then disappear but there will always be bands which would be supported by a smaller but an avid following.

Bands like Sonic Youth has a small but a passionate following that ensures that this 25 year old band continues to perform and make records, bands like Tokyo Police Club have sold out shows regularly in Toronto even though they do not feature prominently on popular music scene outside alternative music. Bands like Blue Rodeo which is unknown outside Canada but are treated as gods in their home land and thousands of other bands.

The idea that music industry controls what we listen to is over. It’s us the audience that decides which band to listen to and support. Since we the audience have discerning tastes, we will never ever settle for one band as THE BAND of the decade. That is downright impossible.

Update : And as far as I know these small time bands do pretty good for themselves through shows and merchandising and are passionate about their music and their fans. As long as they keep making excellent music, we will continue supporting them. And some of them will end up on our Band Of The Decade Lists!

Who knows when my next job would start so better to pack my time with a refresher course on .Net and SQL Servers and catch up on all the movies I can. So without further preamble from me here is what I have watched.

(Warning I have tried to keep away from revealing too much in the movies but it’s a slippery slope and I may have slipped once or twice)

1) Creation

My fascination with the science of evolution continues unabated. The idea that life and beauty we see around is a product of a simple yet a powerful mechanism is astounding! I have tried to follow the intricacies of evoutionary science but, man, it’s really tough. So I concentrate on the human side of evolutionary sciences. And the life of Charles Darwin is always so very fascinating.

As part of the 150 year anniversary of Darwin`s birthday, the movie Creation (starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelley) was released .

The movie works on three different levels. The relationship between Darwin and his pious and religious wife who is convinced Charles will go to hell. The relationship between Darwin and his dead beloved daughter. And Charles’s relationship with his literary supporters who are pushing him to finish his book. To me the movie was a wonderful interaction between these three story threads and Bettany does amazing job portraing the struggles of Charles Darwin as he tries to balance these three issues in his life. The most moving, of course, was his relationship with his dead daughter and the scene where he finally forces himself to confront the room where his daughter died while he was narrating her favourite story was heartbreaking.

The movie did have some flaws. I mean, why would an ”anti-religion” movie have a walking talking ghost/hallucination in it? That was a little over the top and I did not like that part. Other than that, there were a few scenes that were obviously fake (i.e. they never happened in Darwin’s life) and that put me off a bit too.

But overall, I loved the movie and I would give it 8 out of 10 stars!!

2) In The Loop

Aah, the Iraq war of 2003. What a wonderful time it was when everyone was backstabbing everyone else, when everyone was bullying everyone else, when decorated soldiers where licking the boots of kid politicians. And this movie portrays this period perfectly and with such sharp wit that I had to pause it a few times just to catch my breath.

The movie is about the how the burreaucrats and minor politicans play a crucial part in passing the UN resolution condemning Iraq and basically giving the US President and the UK Prime Minister the go ahead to attack Iraq. The back ground shenenigans illuminated in the movie are so funny and so hilarious that you wonder if it’s actually true!!

By far the funniest movie I have seen in a long long long long time!! 9 out of 10 stars.

3) Rocket Singh Sales Man Of The Year

Bollywood has transformed over the last few years and here is another example why. An excellent portrayal of the chronic corruption in Indian private sector which is always said to be the “saviour” of Indian economy. As everyone in India knows nothing is “non-corruptable”. So this is a refreshing movie where the lead character refuses to act dishonestly and eventually wins. The important part of the movie was bringing up other vital issues like sexism and racism (please, making fun of Sikhs IS racism). Which is why making the lead character a Sikh (in a serious movie, Sikh lead characters have been portrayed in mainstream movies as goofy fun loving guys), is a break through.

The major flaw of the movie is that the lead character tries to win honestly by un ethical means. By that I mean, if you have going to use the current company`s resources and clients for your own gain, then it`s unethical and wrong. But the directors and writers smooth that over by the lead character maintaining ”an account” of the resouces used so that he might pay back at a later date. Fortunately, the director and writers redeemed themselves by making sure that the law got hold of the lead character before the situation resolved itself.

8 out of 10 stars.

I will be watching An Education and Coraline soon and will be posting on these movies.

So I had an opportunity to travel to New York city and I took it :)

This city is absolutely fascinating. One can actually feel the pulse of the city and I have raved and clapped numerous times about New York here and here. But on this trip I have had some bad experiences.

I mean Mr. Bus Driver, I did not see the disabled man trying to leave the bus and there was no need for you to shout at me and my daughter to “stop blocking the way”. Ms. Dog Owner if you want space to walk your dog please take it to a park. Don’t expect me to take a bow because “your dog needs space too” on the pavement.

And my favourite, Mr. Cyclist. I know you earn pittance delivering food around the city and the faster you go, the more money you could make. But as a pedestrian I have the right of way and you were out of line shouting at me. BTW, next time, be a man and stop if you want to argue and not run away. I am pretty sure that the nasty weather had some role to play in it. It is quite cold and snowy and slippery and generally gloomy here in NYC at the moment.

But that will not stop me from loving this city. Every gloomy and bad experience can be blown away by a scintilating walk (on the one sunny day) by the lake on central park, by meeting good friends from one’s teen years, from having the best pecan tart with awesome coffee at a small cafe, walking on the streets of NYC with Rhea, my daughter who was using our umbrella to make sure her Barbie did not get wet.

New York, even in the throes of winter, you continue to rock!!! I salute you.

Tracking my training for the Mississauga Marathon through dailymile.com. As you can see it’s not going very well.